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(01/25/17 12:16pm)
Let me begin by expressing my respect for the work and study of social justice. In my opinion, there is no more noble a goal than to rectify an injustice, which is precisely what social justice seeks to do. The objective of the social justice activist, as I understand it, is to achieve an equitable and morally fair distribution of opportunity and privilege, regardless of race, wealth, gender or any other quality people may use to accord advantage and disadvantage to one another. In this sense, social justice embodies the spirit of meritocracy and fairness that is the lifeblood of this country, and I cannot imagine more patriotic work.
(01/11/17 5:09am)
Recently, I’ve begun to worry about the way Duke students think about world peace. I blame our society to a certain extent, whose pessimism masquerades as realism and has gradually stripped the concept of its dignity. Then again, some of the blame rests with us as students. We’ve created an academic environment in which using the words “world peace” in a sentence feels somehow unprofessional and unintellectual. There is a subtle but real pressure to just not go there.
(12/07/16 3:15pm)
Novus ordo Trump. President Obama has been the champion of the American environmental movement for almost eight years now. The executive powers he’s used to carry out his environmental agenda have propelled environmental policy to the fore of American politics and given activists a powerful ally. Nonetheless, environmentalists will soon loose their big gun. In the post-Obama era they will have no choice but to relearn how to enact change from the bottom up—and that’s a good thing.
(11/18/16 4:00pm)
Columnist’s Note: The columnist of this guide is not liable for any social damages incurred by the reader. Engaging in political discourse at the Thanksgiving table is an inherently dangerous activity, potentially resulting in the loss of family members and/or appetite. Proceed at your own risk.
(10/21/16 7:06pm)
One of the downsides of university politics is that on prominent issues of social justice, the student body mobilizes to form its opinions without giving students time to discuss and deliberate on the issues. It is a sign of how much we care, I believe, but the result is that we all agree on how we feel before most of us firmly understand why. This is not a criticism, but rather an observation worthy of concern.
(10/07/16 8:29pm)
On Nov. 8 the U.S. election cycle will reach its climax when millions of Americans gather at polling stations across the country to cast their votes. Candidates for every level of government office, from district judges to Congress and the presidency will be on the ballots. Joining fellow Americans will be thousands of Duke students—your friends, classmates and even that acquaintance of yours whose political views you find atrocious.
(09/23/16 6:46am)
Last week I stumbled upon a fascinating interview between Ezra Klein and Atul Gawande, a prolific surgeon and healthcare writer. The two discussed the decline of ignorance and the rise of ineptitude as the primary cause of human failure. Their conversation made me reconsider the origins of failure in my own life and in the institutions around me. In the 21st century, there is no dearth of knowledge limiting human progress. For the first time, we are failing to accomplish our goals because we fail to apply the knowledge we already possess.
(09/09/16 1:16pm)
If you ever need evidence that the world can be cruel, I suggest you go looking for a street light. Look for the yellow, bulbous ones that buzz slightly and hardly illuminate anything except a narrow stretch of asphalt. Once you find it, look for the small swarm of insects flying in endless circles around that light. Remember them. They will stay there for hours on end, beating against the glass until the sun comes up or they lose the strength to fly. It is a small tragedy, I think, that something like a moth, whose lifespan is far shorter than my own, should waste even an hour chasing a light it will never reach.
(08/26/16 2:43pm)
Lately, there’s been a spring in the steps of Hillary Clinton’s supporters. The Trump campaign has stumbled into a succession of controversies and his momentum is stalled. From his attacks on the Muslim family of a fallen marine to his unwieldy and condescending outreach to black voters, the last month has been a tough one for Trump. Recent polls suggest several battleground states are leaning towards Clinton and even traditionally republican territories like Missouri are now evenly split.
(06/22/16 5:40pm)
No one but the unnatural would condone last Monday’s attack in Orlando. I would like to believe that red and blue states have been united in their grief these past several days. Surely our political disagreements can’t prevent us from empathizing with the loss of a parent, a child or a lover.
(05/24/16 9:07am)
On the evening of April 3, 1968–a Wednesday–Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stepped up to the podium at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee and greeted 3,000 black men and women gathered there. His colleagues in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference were scheduled to speak that night in support of 1,300 striking workers. However, the crowd demanded to hear from Dr. King himself until he was eventually driven from his hotel room to the packed church to speak.
